Tips We Love From Checklist Manifesto

Have you ever completed a busy grocery shopping trip, only to come home, begin unpacking, and realize you forgot several crucial ingredients? If this has happened to you, you’re certainly not alone. Along with kicking yourself for forgetting that can of crushed tomatoes, you may be also wondering how you can prevent this from happening in the future.

So how do we reduce errors like that from happening in the future? Enter: the checklist. 

In the book, Checklist Manifesto by Atul Gawande, Gawande explains the importance of creating, and maintaining a functional checklist to ensure tasks get completed efficiently, and without crucial errors from occurring. 

Curious about how you can leverage a checklist in your planning? Read on for some tips on how to create your own checklist manifesto for your business.

Why is a Checklist Important?

Whether you realize it or not, life contains all sorts of checklists. Some occur mentally, such as your morning routine (shower, breakfast, brush teeth) or physically, such as following a cookbook recipe. Using a checklist helps to ensure things are done consistently and to deliver that same result every time. It’s purpose is to aid and make things easier. 

Checklists make priorities clearer and help a team to function better. Most importantly, checklists get the trivial stuff out of the way. By removing the routines that your brain shouldn't have to occupy itself with, the checklist allows you to focus on the more complicated stuff. 

Using a checklist can help reduce the potential cost of human mistakes. In his book, Checklist Manifesto, Gawande, a surgeon talks about his process in adding checklists to various medical checklists (including pre-surgery!) and the positive impact it had on side effects, potential infection, and even death! Although what we do isn’t as life-altering as a surgical procedure, you can the benefits of a list for surgery, imagine what it could do for your brand!

Tips From Checklist Manifesto

Don’t Make a Checklist Too Long

If you’ve ever sat down to make a list, you know how daunting it can get as you see the paper fill up with to-do’s. That’s why a checklist should never be too long- if it is, people likely won’t use it. A better way to make your checklist: if the task is too long, break that task in to sub-tasks, with a more pointed focus. From there, you can make smaller checklists. A great digital example of this is the Basecamp platform. 

Who Owns Your Checklist(s)?

A checklist sometimes acts a living, breathing, document, meaning that its constantly changing and evolving as tasks are completed. A checklist may also go through many drafts as as it is tested, and the testing will continue until the checklist works consistently. Is there a member on your team that’s particularly passionate about lists? A good checklist is one that is adequately owned and maintained by someone who is disciplined and committed to keep it up-to-date. 

Find Your Pause Points

What is a pause point? A pause point are moments during a task where you should stop, run through your completed checklist, and then double-check prior to proceeding to the next task. An example of this is a pilot carefully going through their pre-flight checklist before takeoff. Imagine if you’re a passenger on a plane. Would you rest easier during your flight knowing that your pilot completed a pre-flight checklist? 

Decide Which Checklist You’ll Make

In Checklist Manifesto, Gawande highlights a number of decisions you’ll need to make when developing your checklist. One of these decisions is deciding at what point you’ll use said checklist. These are known as READ-DO checklists and DO-CONFIRM checklists. DO-CONFIM checklists members of the team complete the tasks solely based on memory and experience. Then a pause happens, where they do through the checklist and ensure everything was completed. A READ-DO checklist directs team members to complete tasks as they check them off. Which one should you use? It depends on your situation. 

Everyone can benefit from implementing checklists in their lives- professionally, and personally. Whether you need a checklist to guide you to perfecting a presentation for potential clients, or just a list to ensure you don’t forget those crushed tomatoes- a list can be a lifesaver. Does your business use lists to guide you? What are some of your best practices? Let us know in the comments!